Soon you will not be able to get the pure Android look on your phone as Google is tipped to kill the Google Now Launcher. According to an email obtained by Android Police, from the Android team at Google Mobile Services (GMS), “Google Now Launcher will be unpublished from Google Play” in the first quarter of 2017.
The email further adds that Google still plans to support anyone who has already installed it on their phone or tablet with updates to the Google search app. Google plans to remove Google Now Launcher from the optional GMS package on March 1st. This essentially means GMS partners will no longer be able to offer new devices with Google Now Launcher after March 1, 2017. Introduced in 2014, the Google Now Launcher allowed Android users to access Google’s information cards, Google Maps, weather and more importantly added the ability to access Google Now directly from the home screen. It has clocked more than 50 million downloads on the Play Store.
As Google is planning to bid bidding goodbye to Google Now Launcher, there is a possibility that the company will make the Pixel launcher (which is currently exclusive to Pixel devices) available for other Android phones.